Locking mechanism for binders



April 16, 1935. R. R. WEBB 1,997,654

LOCKING MECHANISM FOR BINDERS Filed June 1, 1954 Patented Apr. 16, 1935 UNITED STATES 1,997,664 LOCKING MECHANISM non BINDERS Robert R. Webb, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Charles R. Hadley Company, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Application June 1, 1934, Serial No. 728,463 a '5 Claims. (01. 129-41) This invention relates broadly to loose leaf binders and more specifically to a rack and pinion clamping mechanism for releasably looking a binder in leaf clamping position.

i 5 .An object of the invention is to simplify the construction of and reduce the cost of manufacturing a locking mechanism of the type referred to. This object is attained by an ingenious design whereby very few'parts are required, most of which may be stamped from sheet metal.

A clear understanding of the invention may be had from the following detailed description which refers to the drawing.

In the drawing; V

Fig. 1 is a view of a binder incorporating the invention, the binder being shown in open position and portions being broken away to disclose the clamping mechanism; Fig. 2 is a detail view of the rack and cross head of the locking mechanism with the cover plate of the cross head removed to show the mechanism;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail cross section of the rack and cross head, taken in'the plane III-III of Figure 2;

Fig. 4' is a plan view of the original blank from which the base plate of the cross head is shaped; Y

Fig. 5 is a plan'view of the base plate after h p Fig. 6 is a section taken in the plane VI-VI of' Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 is a section taken in the plane VII-VII of-Fig 5; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of: the cover plate of the cross head; and v Fig. -9 is a cross section taken in the plane Iii- 1X of Fig. 2.

Referring first to Fig. 1, there is shown a binder having a front cover I and a rear cover 2 which are secured by hinges 3 and 4, respectively, to the two clamping plates 5 and 6, respectively of the binder. The clamping plates 5 and 6 are adapted to be forced together to clamp loose leaves I inserted therebetween.

The clamping mechanism comprises a pair of cords or belts 8 which are secured at one end to the clamping plate 6, pass through apertures in the loose leaves 1, and in the other clamping plate 5, and are secured at their opposite ends to the two ends of a cross bar 9, which in turn is rigidly secured toa cross head I ll slidably mounted for. movement longitudinally withinthe cover I on a rack l I; Thus it will be observed 5 that the rack H is rigidly secured at its opposite cuts 3| extending therefrom. The blanks shown ends to the frame of the cover 'I. The cross head 10 contains a pinion meshing with the teeth in the rack H and a stop-pawl whereby after the bar 9 is moved into position to tighten the cords 8, it may be securely locked in that 5 position. I

The general assembly so far described is old and is disclosed in Patent No. 1,697,374, issued to J. C. Strickler and Oscar Schwall January 1st, 1929. The present invention resides in the par- 10 ticular construction of the cross head H), which will now be explained with reference to the various figures of the drawing. I

Referring to Fig. 3, it will be observed that the cross head comprises a base plate l2 and a cover plate 13 secured together and to the cross bar 9 by rivets l4. A pinion I5 is rotatably supported upon a stub shaft l6 secured to the base plate E2, the pinion being extended up through an aperture H in thecover plate I3 and having a square recess [8 in its upper end for the insertion of a key. A pawl Isis slidably mounted between the base and cover plates between thepinion l5 and the adjacent end wall of the cover plate iii, the

pawl having a slot therein to receive the rivet 5 l4, and a recess 2! (Fig. 2) to accommodate a helical spring 22 adapted to be compressed between the pawl and an up-tumed edge 23 on the base plateto constantly urge the pawl into the position shown in Fig. 2 in which a projection 24 on the-pawl engages between successive teeth on the pinion l5 to prevent the latter from rotating in a counterclockwise direction. The pawl it is provided with an extension 25 on the side opposite the spring 22 which projects through an orifice provided therefor in the side wall of the cross head and is bent down at the end to constitute a thumb piece.- By pressing inwardly on the thumb piece 25, the pawl l9 may be displaced against the force exerted by the spring 22 to shift the projection 24 out of the path of the pinion l 5 and permit the cross head to be moved freely in either direction along the rack H.

To simplify and reduce the cost of manufacturing the cross head Ill, the base plate l2, the cover plate 13 and the pawl l9 are all constructed from sheet metal blanks. Thus referring to Fig. 4 the base plate 12 is formed from a flat rectangular metal blank having ears 2"! projecting from the sides thereof, apertures 28 adjacent the ends for receiving therivets l4, aperture 25 for receiving the stub shaft i5 on which the pinion i5 is mounted, and a rectangular opening 3i having in Fig. 4 is bent into the form shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 by compressing it between suitable dies which place folds 32 and 33 in the piece, these folds projecting above the level of the main surface of the blank a sufficient distance to prevent the cover plate from touching the upper surface of the rack and the fold 32 constituting a guide wall against which the rear edge opposite to the toothed edge of the rack bears. The ears 2! are likewise bent upwardly in the die to constitute spacers for maintaining the desired separation between the base plate and the cover plate when the latter are clamped together by the rivets l4. It will be observed from Figs. 4 and 5 that the bending of the blank to form the folds 33 contracts the blank sufiiciently to bring the opposite edges of the opening 30 together. By providing the opening 30 in the blank, the surface of the metal surrounding the stub shaft I6 is maintained perfectly fiat to provide a smooth seat for the pinion IS.

The construction of the cover plate I3 is clearly shown in the perspective view of Fig. 8. It consists of a fiat metal sheet having its edges bent down to constitute a complete enclosure over all parts of the sides of the cross head except where the rack l I and the thumb piece 25 project.

The operation of the completed device has been briefly explained hereinbefore and is readily apparent from inspection of Figs. 1 and 2. It will be observed that the cross bar 9 may be at all times moved in a direction to tighten the cords 8 because such movement tends to rotate the pinion IS in a clockwise direction. Such movement can occur at all times because the pawl I9 is free to move upwardly against the resilient force produced by the spring 22, thereby permitting each tooth of the pinion to pass the shoulder 24. However, as each tooth passes the shoulder 24 the pawl slips back against the rear face of that tooth, preventing any reverse movement of the pinion and consequently any reverse movement of the cross bar 9 in a direction to loosen the cords 8. Should the operator desire to loosen the binder to remove or insert sheets, he grasps the cross head between the thumb and forefinger in such a way as to press against the handle 25, thereby forcing the pawl I9 out of engagement with the pinion, whereupon the cross head and cross bar 9 may be moved freely in either direction.

The pawl construction described is very strong for its intended purpose because of the fact that any movement of the pinion IS in a counterclockwise direction tends to shift the pawl downwardly and to the left (with reference to Fig. 2). Downward movement of the pawl is positively prevented by the fact that the pawl bears against the upturned edge 21 of the base plate and leftward movement is prevented because of the fact that the entire left edge of the pawl bears against the left wall of the cover plate. The pawl is guided in its recipricatory movement by both the end wall of the cover plate against which it bears and also the rivet l4 which passes through the slot 20 in the pawl.

Ordinarily, sufiicient tension may be placed on the cords 8 by merely pulling the cross bar 9 outwardly as far as it will go. However, if additional tension is desired, it may readily be obtained by inserting a key in the square socket l8 provided in the pinion l5 and rotating the pinion in a clockwise direction.

Although my locking mechanism has been described with reference to a particular binder for purposes of illustration, it is to be understood that the particular binder disclosed does not constitute a part of this invention and that the lock may be employed in other binders differing substantially in appearance and construction from that disclosed.

I claim:

1. In a binder of the type described comprising a stationaryflat rack toothed on one edge, and a traveling cross head slidable along the rack, the cross head construction consisting of a fiat sheet metal base plate and a sheet metal cover plate adapted to receive the flat rack therebetween, said base plate having an upward fold therein constituting a bearing surface for the rear edge of the rack, a pinion positioned between said plates, a stub shaft on said base plate for rotatably supporting said pinion in mesh with said rack, a flat pawl of substantially the same thickness as the rack slidably supported between said base and cover plates on the opposite side'of said pinion from said rack for movement into engagement with said pinion, and means for clamping said plates together, portions of the 'outer edge of said base plate being up-turned to bear against said cover plate and, together with said up-tumed fold, space the cover plate from the pawl, pinion and rack.

2. In a binder of the type described, comprising a stationary fiat rack toothed on one edge and a traveling cross head slidable along the rack, the cross head construction consisting of a fiat sheet metal base plate and a sheet metal cover plate adapted to receive the fiat rack therebetween, said base plate having an upward fold therein constituting a bearing surface for the rear edge of the rack, a pinion, a stub shaft secured to said base plate for rotatably supporting said pinion against the toothed edge of said rack, a flat pawl slidably mounted between said base plate and cover plate for guided movement tangentially away from and toward said pinion, said pawl having an elongated slot therein, and rivet means passing through said base and cover plates and through said slot in said pawl for clamping said plates together and guiding said pawl, portions of the outer edges of said base plate being up-turned to bear against the cover plate and, together with said upward fold, space the cover plate from the pawl, pinion and rack.

3. A binder head as described in claim 1, in which the base plate is provided with a pair of additional upward folds in line with each other but spaced apart on opposite sides of said pinion for spacing the cover plate from the rack and pimon.

4. A binder head as described in claim 1, in which the edge of the cover plate adjacent said pawl is turned down to constitute "a bearing surface for the pawl and thereby prevent lateral moillement of the pawl away from said pinion and rac 5. A binder as described in claim 1, in which said base plate has a pair of upward folds therein constituting bearing surfaces for the toothed edge of said rack at points ahead of and back of said pinion, respectively, said base plate being fiat between said pair of folds, and having a slit therein connecting the said pair of folds, said flat portion of said base plate providing a seat for said pinion and said pair of folds serving both as guides for the rack and as spacer elements for spacing the cover plate from the rack and pinion.

ROBERT R. WEBB. 

